The role of nationalism and national identities in the UAE

Introduction The UAE has experienced a quantum leap from just a loose collection of tribes since in 1971 to a wealthy state worth recognition. Despite the robust economic performance the country faces challenges with its native populace. The priority three is demographic imbalance, unemployment rate as well as development of human capital.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The role of nationalism and national identities in the UAE specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Patrick (1) the UAE has yet to develop the concept of a nation as manifested by the increase in the public debate approaches to guard the national identity through amicably defining who is a national. The UAE has operated on social openness with Islam that is tolerant to heavy modernization and influence by international environments. Some scholarly assertions in the UAE argue the bases of national identity as an Emirati not tied to indigenous populace or aborigines from UAE. Unlike other countries in the Middle East that have a historical struggle for their own determination or expansionism linked with the Western colonizers, the GCC states have faced complications in developing national identity models. Al-Suwaidi (45) views that politics in the UAE rest upon the governance pretext of explicit and implicit consent under the old Lockean principle where the ruling regime serves on the premises of universal acceptance of the incumbent and approach to government. This permeates both inter and intra-Emirates as well as the federal levels. The governing class has laid more emphases on procedural set up of national institutions and systems than focus on development strides in the country’s politics. While citing literature, Patrick (2) explains nationalism in the UAE as positive turning inward vis-à  -vis negative turning outward. This nationalism concept has been entrenched in the Emiratisation policy. In order to pu sh for the nationalism agenda some of the policies in Emiratisation are regulatory than subsidiary. Emiratisation has advanced nationalism avenues on financial empowerment, religious and cultural issues assist in developing of skills as well as creation of professionals. Towards this end, the federal government set up a National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (TANMIA) charged with enhancing skill development as well as hiring of nationals into the work force.Advertising Looking for essay on political culture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The national population imbalance Koji (41) notes that the federal government of the UAE has faced a challenge in its demographic composition. The government realized that influx foreigners were creating a population imbalance between national and expatriates, which disadvantaged the locals seeking national opportunities; thus, has led to crisis in defining national ide ntity. As part of the national labour policy, the government has embarked on affirmative action of replacing foreign workers with native ones to enhance the employment for the local work force, while lessening expatriate pool. Koji (43) observes that the overall population is 8 million people with foreigners making up 87 percent; moreover, the work force in the private sector constitutes about one percent of natives. The oil boom that drove the process of national economic development attracted foreign workers in the UAE since the 1970s to service huge labour gaps since at the onset the nationals were few vis-à  -vis the employment opportunities. This initial economic development effort in the 1980s intended to widen revenue sources away from the oil sector bases; however most of the employment opportunities fitted expatriate skills. The unemployment rates among the nationals The UAE is experiencing an increment in the youth population among nationals and a positive correlation wit h unemployment rates. Koji (43) views that some non-oil sectors in the UAE like manufacturing, services as well as construction have created labour opportunities, which have not attracted the nationals on the bases working conditions. This is creating room for expatriates to cease the opportunities to fit in. Nonetheless, the nationals tend to prefer government based jobs vis-à  -vis private sector. Projections on the trend of the labour market estimate that by 2015 more than a quarter million of nationals will be unemployed with four-fifth of this being the youth. As part of giving nationals a priority within the private sector and in specific in banking sector the Decision No. 8 of 1998 by Cabinet that demand each premise to hire at least 4 percent nationals within its workforce. The government is also pursuing efforts on diverse nationalities within a workplace as opposed to cheaper labour that favours influx of foreigners.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The role of nationalism and national identities in the UAE specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This will at the end lead to increase in the infiltration of nationals into the workforce. Moreover, there is increased attention on the movement of non-nationals within the country. Al-Ali (38) notes that about a tenth of Emiratis in private have left employment citing difficulties with working in a multicultural setting as a hindrance to human capital formation, particularly the female gender. Women Empowerment There are gender related issues specifically among the women’s subgroup. Al-Ali (13) observes that gender development has come with new challenges for Emirati women, which need national assistance. Cultural changes have led to low of fertility rates, especially number of children per Emirati women. In the wake of achieving gender equity in nation building, Emirati women are experiencing delayed childbearing and a commitment to a cquiring higher education knowledge while attending to household matters. Traditionalists lifestyle that thrived on more births to propagate family as well as tribal status are facing huge challenges now that Emiratis is called upon to participate actively in the country’s human capital in the economy amid competition from expatriates. Affirmative action has led to more women taking up employment opportunities. In the public sector, women constitute about two-fifth of the workforce in the education sector, a third in health as well as a fifth in the social affairs. Interestingly, affirmative action has led to more women joining higher education and gaining necessary qualification across professions thus beginning career life and earning a living (Al-Ali 13). The more women that join the post secondary education have benefit to their contribution to the human capital development because of the shift in the social attitudes. Conclusion In conclusion, the UAE has presented as a fair model of a nation that has used its natural endowment to diversify and modernize its state, while ensuring there is equality in benefits for natives as well as the rest of the world.Advertising Looking for essay on political culture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The application of the old Lockean principle implies that the nation appreciates that influence of globalization by tapping benefits and preserving traditions with adverse impacts the country’s history. Furthermore, institutionalizing the challenges facing nationalism through TANMIA is evidence that the government has concern for developing national economy that directly benefits nationals through affirmative action. This is engendered on issues arising from cultural and religious barriers, financial capacity as well as skill and professional development. Some scholarly quarters have the feeling that the country has not yet fully addressed its definition of national identity. Works Cited Al-Ali, Jasim 2008, Structural Barriers to Emiratisation: Analysis and Policy Recommendations. PDF file. 15 Feb. 2008. http://vuir.vu.edu.au/15483/1/al_ali.pdf. Al-Suwaidi, Abdulla. â€Å"The United Arab Emirates At 40: A Balance Sheet.† Middle East Policy. XVIII.4 (2011):44-58. Uaeint eract. Web. Koji, Horinuki. â€Å"Controversies over Labour Naturalisation Policy and its Dilemmas: 40 Years of Emiratisation in the United Arab Emirates.† Kyoto Bulletin of Islamic Area Studies. 4.1(2011 ):41–61. Asafas. Web. Patrick, Neil 2009, Research Paper, Kuwait Programme on Development, Governance and Globalisation in the Gulf States. PDF file. 15 Feb. 2008. This essay on The role of nationalism and national identities in the UAE was written and submitted by user Rashad Gomez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Admiration and Uniqueness of Iroquois Culture

The Admiration and Uniqueness of Iroquois Culture Introduction Several indigenous tribes in the Northern parts of America form the Iroquois people. The culture of the Iroquois is unique and spectacular. Many people admire the Iroquois because of their unique culture and traditions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Admiration and Uniqueness of Iroquois Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the 16th century, the Iroquoian-speaking tribes decided to come together and formed the Iroquois League initially composed of Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida, Mohawk and Onondaga tribes. The Iroquois League has a unique cultural and ceremonial embodiment. Although the confederacy dissolved in the 18th century, the League is still in existence. For the years, the Iroquois are known for having developed a unique culture that all other races of human kind have looked upon with pride and envy; pride that the Iroquois were human and like themselves, and with envy because the culture was not their own. This paper explores the uniqueness of the Iroquois culture and the reason it is widely admired by many people in the world today. The Culture of the Iroquois People The Iroquois people have maintained their cultural practices for centuries. The people developed a unique culture envied by generations and tribes from different parts of the world. The culture developed around certain disciplines and as a result defined the unique roles and responsibilities among the tribesmen. The different tribes in the Iroquois League helped a lot in the preservation of the people’s culture (Graymont 37). The Iroquois people have specific cultural peculiarities that make the unique and admirable. For instance, the culture embraces some spiritually significant beads known as wampum. The beads are also important and have monetary value. Their cultural practices of the people have remained accurate and unique for very many years. They people also have their own prophets whom they greatly revere. It is because of this uniqueness that many people admired their culture. The Iroquois used to replace the dead with captives captured during their mourning wars (Graymont 46). They Iroquois naturalized the captives to become citizens of their tribe. This was the melting pot practice thus making the Iroquois people famous for very many years. Looking at this kind of practice carefully, it is observable that the Iroquois did not simply conquer and capture the people, but they dedicated much of their time to naturalize and remold them to become part of them.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The tradition of the Iroquois also promoted the status of the woman thus making her very powerful and in a position to own properly, horses and even land. This is something widely admired by tribes across the world today. Occupation is another important feature of the Iroquois p eople. For very many centuries, the occupation of the Iroquois tribesmen has been taking up different forms including agriculture, hunting, gathering, and fishing. Some occupational practices such as gathering were the work of children and women while men fish and hunt (Walle 23). The occupation forms a unique aspect of the Iroquois culture. It is through these different forms of occupation that the children learned and obtained experience for the continuity of the people’s cultural practices. Food forms a unique aspect of the people’s cultural behaviors and practices. The food of the Iroquois is unique because their staple diet maintains proper health. The food is composed of beans, corn and squash as the major components of their meals. They also consume some berries, wild roots and other green vegetables. The practices of the Iroquois people have made their culture unique and admirable by different tribes (Walle 32). The Iroquois people are selective when cooking di fferent food materials. For example, they prefer bass, whitefish and trout when choosing fish for food. This explains why different individuals have envied the cultural practices of the Iroquois people. The people also eat muskrat, beaver, and wild turkey as source of proteins. The Iroquois people have a culture characterized by a number of festivals admired by different cultures across the globe. Most of the festivals and ceremonies coincide with certain practices and event such as agriculture. For example, the Iroquois have festivals when harvesting their agricultural products. The people put the festivals as thanksgiving for the yields obtained. The Iroquois have staged the practice for very many centuries thereby attracting the attention of many people (Tuck 17). It is through these festivals that the people understand the relevance of blessings. During the festivals, the culture of the people requires that they start and end with worship songs and prayers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Admiration and Uniqueness of Iroquois Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The other unique and characteristic aspect of the people’s culture is the wampum. The wampum beads are useful in a similar manner as money. These beads also have a high monetary value. It is because of this monetary value that they available in different parts of the world. The beads play a huge role in explaining the cultural attachments of the Iroquois people. The other important aspect of the Iroquois people is that they have not developed any form of writing system (Smith 43). Because of this, the Iroquois pass their culture from one generation to the next orally. With this kind of knowledge and understanding, the Iroquois people have learned how to adhere to their cultural practices and traditions. The use of the wampum beads acts as a stimulant and reminder of the people’s historical backgrounds. For exa mple, the use of shell beads is characteristic of different experiences and events in the people’s history. They Iroquois use beads bored with drilled and polished with different color codes. Each bed is usually significant of a given event and occasion (Tuck 56). The people use the beads to remind themselves about their historical events and developments. The Iroquois people also use these beads to make belts with historical relevance and meaning. For very many centuries, the Iroquois people have maintained a unique culture acknowledged across the globe. The religious beliefs of the people centers on a greater spirit and the reason they strongly believe he is the creator of the universe. They also have a strong adherence to seasons and events of nature. This makes them strong proponents of animated culture. The last one century has also seen many Iroquois becoming Christians. They also show reverence and respect to their prophets and ancestors. The Iroquois people believe th ey have the power to communicate directly with their creator during their seasonal festivals. They also believe in the eternity of the human soul (Smith 82). The other unique aspect of the Iroquois people is the ability to study and interpret their dreams. The people have a strong attachment to their dreams. They also know how to interpret them. For very many years, the Iroquois have learned how to interpret dreams because they believe they have hidden meaning. The interpretation is of great relevance to the lives of individuals.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As stated earlier, the Iroquois have specific festivals with great spiritual and religious significance. The people have six ceremonies held in a year. These festivals have unique religious significance including curing diseases, thanksgiving, farming, and worshipping. The people also believe that they will live a life of eternity if they live a good life and honor their gods. This is something that has played a significant role in establishing the relationship between the people and the supernatural world (Roza 65). In the last centuries, history shows that the Iroquois people have embraced unity thereby making it possible for them to develop a superior cultural organization. For very many centuries, many people have considered the Iroquois people as distinct from the Americans and Canadians (Smith 63). This is because they have their own cultural practices and attachments. The outstanding thing about these people is that they have managed to retain their cultural practices and tra ditions. Many people admire the practices with cultures looking at them with envy. The uniqueness of the culture is what has made the Iroquois famous. Conclusion As we have discussed above, the Iroquois have a unique culture. They maintain certain festivals, observe their religious practices, and retain their unique foods. The culture has remained unique and properly defined and the reason many people admire it. It is therefore acknowledgeable that the Iroquois people managed to develop a culture that all people across the world might look upon with both envy and pride; envy that it was not theirs, and pride that Iroquois, like themselves, were human. Many people admire the cultural practices of the Iroquois people because of its uniqueness. Graymont, Barbara. The Iroquois. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2005. Print. Roza, Greg. The Iroquois of New York. New York: McGraw, 2003. Print. Smith, Vernon. Humankind in Prehistory: Economy, Ecology, and Institutions. New York: Rowman and Littl efield Publishers, 2003. Print. Tuck, James. Onondaga Iroquois prehistory: a study in settlement archeology. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. Walle, Alf. Recovery the native way: a client reader. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.

Intercultural Speaker Summary Leymah Gbowee Essay

Intercultural Speaker Summary Leymah Gbowee - Essay Example st recognized women in the Africa, Liberia in particular for her noble efforts in mobilizing women across the religious divide for the sole intention of fostering peace among the people of Liberia. Her efforts were mainly women-centered as she used pro-women movements to agitate for an end to the long civil war that had jeopardized the republic of Liberia for more than a decade (Gbowee & Mithers, 2011). This earned her great recognition both within and the world at large thus, enabling her to garner a number of international awards most notably the Nobel Peace Prize, which she won in the year 2011 for her active role in empowering women to fight for their rights and end of war. Over the years, she has always worked closely with Ellen Johnson and their efforts bore fruits when Liberia held its first free elections and, which were won by a female candidate the first one in the history of black Africa (Gbowee & Mithers, 2011). Despite the long strife of civil war that was witnessed in Liberia for close to fifteen years, the efforts of Leymah and her colleagues ensured the plight of women was checked and most importantly, their fundamental rights were safeguarded. In her presentation â€Å"Mighty be our Powers† she mainly concentrates on elaborating to the world, what the power of united women can achieve in the world, which is largely dominated by men. The main points that she vividly brings out include mobilization of women across borders regardless of their ethnicity or religion, women empowerment, most importantly the need to protect the fundamental rights of women and finally the plight of women in the event of unrest such as prolonged civil wars (Gbowee & Mithers 2011). The presentation is meant for the public given the kind of knowledge that it presents. However, after critical analysis it can be deduced that the main audience of this particular presentation can be categorized into two major groups namely; women and the rest of the people. Women formed a

Honor words Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Honor words - Essay Example I am here now and so happy that I choose to honor my words. I read one time that words are powerful. People can choose to believe me or not based on how I act after I tell them something. It is my hope that I can be seen as a person that can be trusted. A person that when I say something, I honor those words, no matter how hard it might be. I must say that it is hard to always do what is right. It is harder to always do what we say, but it is sometimes more easy to just change my mind. If I truly believe in my dream, however, I will continue to honor my words and show people that when I say something, I mean it. You, my teacher, have asked me how I respect my words. I think about this a long time. My simple answer is that I need to respect myself first. I look in the dictionary and find the word integrity. This means, to me, that I need to be honest with myself and others, even when nobody sees what I do. When I think of my words, then, I need to respect what I say and shows others that I am loyal, honest, and a person who will work hard to follow through on what I

BARGAINING II - AT THE TABLE Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

BARGAINING II - AT THE TABLE - Assignment Example The arising conflict issue for this paper is conflicts in performance review. There is no single employee who enjoys a negative review of his or her performance. However, it is difficult to avoid negative feedback depending on the actions of the employees during the time of the review. This is a major reason for workplace conflict in the organization. Employees become angry when they fail to get the expected pay rise, promotions, and any other performance related incentives. As a result, they lash out spreading their discontent through gossiping the management and having a negative attitude towards work. These employees often argue directly with their supervisors creating very tricky and sensitive situations that require effective communication methods to resolve. The underlying problem is the employees failing to maximize on their full potential in work due to negative performance review. In most cases, the employees trigger this negative feedback based on their actions during the period of the review. As a result, they end up getting angry with their supervisors and may even lash out at them. This creates a tricky situation that may worsen if not handled properly. Moreover, the employees might lose their jobs in the event that the situation worsens. The parties in conflict are the employees and the management or supervisors. Thus, the side I choose is that of the management or supervisors. It is up to the employees to ensure that their performance in the organization is up to the required standards of the organization. Failure to do so would result into a negative performance review that would not be taken lightly by the employees. In addition, there is no way a supervisor can give a positive performance review while the employee’s o utput is not satisfactory (Gramberg, 2006). The supervisors and the management exercised various forms of behavior during the discussion phase. One of them is

How Does The Sociology Explain Society Sociology Essay

How Does The Sociology Explain Society Sociology Essay This essay will examine two theoretical sociological perspectives on society and how it functions. It will compare and contrast Marxism and functionalism. By describing and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of both perspectives. Marx called the system in which we live in, capitalism, He divided it up into two basic divisions, the bourgeoisie (the owners of production), the bourgeoisie own all the means of production for example the farmland and factories and the proletariat (The Workers) sell their skills and labour to the bourgeoisie. This is a simple view of a complex social phenomenon; theoretically more social classes should be identified. It fails to take into account any sub divisions. The bourgeoisie or ruling class benefit the most from the way that society operates and the proletariat do not and therefore gain far less than they deserve. Marx believed that the proletariats would, in the end, refuse to conform and revolt, destroying the bourgeoisie in order to become free for oppression and gain social mobility. What the Bourgeoisie, therefore produces, above all, is its own grave diggers, (Marx, Engels, 1884). Marx thought that the bourgeoisie did not improve society but created situations of crisis, what he did not take into account was the money that they were putting back into society and that fact that without them the majority of the proletariat would be without work. The superstructure for example: The Government, legal system, religion and the mass media are all owned by and used by the bourgeoisie to create false class consciousness amongst the proletariat in order to avert them from rebelling from their exploitation (Haralambos,2002,p.2). According to Marx capitalism is the newest type of class system, but it will also be the last. A communist society in which the means of production will be equally owned will replace capitalism, he thought that the proletariat will form unions, political parties and revolutionary movements enabling communism to overthrow capitalism (haralambous, 2002, p.7). What Marx failed to do is set a time frame for the revolution. Some unions that have previously revolted against the bourgeoisie have failed and temporarily sent society into disarray. The power in economic systems is separable from other sources, male and female inequalities can not be explained in economic terms (Giddens, 2009, p.93). The theory is inadequate because it only fully explains a proportion of society and does not take into account individuals ideals and ambitions. A positive aspect of Marxism is that it highlights inequality and institutions that foster and perpetuate inequality it has brought a different perspective to examination of social systems and it has demonstrated a social conscience. The focus of Marxism has lead to the formulation of social policies and programs. Functionalism is a sociological perspective that society is based on consensus, consensus assumes that norms and values in society are generally agreed and that social life is based on co-operation, rather than conflict (Lawson, 1996, p.48). What it fails to consider is that some people to not agree with the way that society functions and that not everyone holds that same norms and values. It is the oldest yet still is the most dominant theoretical perspective in sociology. Functionalists such as Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), argued that the key to understanding human behaviour is understanding socialization. He used the analogy of the human body, with each part of society having a function (a purpose) like each vital organ for example; the government of society was compared to the human brain. If one part of society fails the whole system would fail, like the body would if it was to lose a vital organ. Parsons (1971) even viewed the whole world as a system of societies. Functionalists believe that people and their social roles are produced by society and individuals themselves do not produce a society. He claimed that individuals are products of their influences e.g. families, friends, educational and religious background and the media that they are exposed to. They are born into their place in society, play their roles in it and then they die, without at all effecting how society functions, society does not and it continues to work long after they are gone(Moore,2001,p.6). For functionalists social institutes are believed to ensure that the socially acceptable patterns of behaviour are passed on or reproduced. For example family, education and the media socialise people into the key values of society this includes, respect for authority and the hierarchy (Moore, 2001, p.9). Stratification which is inevitable in societies unites people because it derives from shared values. Durkhiem (1938) identified four main characteristics of crime he argued that crime is a social construct, which can actually benefit society because crime strengthens bonds between people. It reinforces norms and values, and a limited amount of crime is necessary to stop society stagnating. Crime could be reduced if individuals were controlled, but this would prevent development of positive deviants who go against societies norms and values, yet move society forward, (Durkhiem, 1938). Parsons (1965) identified religion as an important function in society as it helps people is crises, enabling them to carry on playing their social roles, allowing society to function normally. Parsons also identified that in order for society to function everyone had to continuously play their own roles, he identified the sick role, where the function is to play the role of being ill and to get better as soon as possible in order to get back into your role. In order for the system to perform, all roles must be filled by those best qualified to perform them, he even thought that those who are unemployed had a role to play in order for those in higher authority to keep their roles. He stated that those in who successfully played their roles will be ranked highly and will receive rewards, although it can be argued that the mechanism (social stratification) for insuring effective role allocation; attaches unequal rewards and privileges to positions in society. However a criticism of Functionalism is that it is, descriptive and classificatory and only gives names for society and social changes, and does not explain them. Although both Marxism and Functionalism see society differently, they also have some similarities: they are both positivists, built using scientific research methods. Positivism is called macro sociology because it looks at society as a whole; however looking at society from this perspective does not take into account the individuals and their norms and values. They both have a top down approach, the belief that viewing society as a real thing which exists above and beyond us all as individuals is the best way to view society. Both theories agree on the importance of totality (marsh, 2006) The favoured research methods to look at behavioural patterns is those that generate sets of statistics such as questionnaires- known as quantitative methods this is not always that best approach to research society, because not everyone is studied. They both believe that man is forced into his choices by the structures and systems in society, although they both have different views on this, functionalists believe that this is right and it has to be for society to work, and people accept society as it is. Marxist on the other hand believe that it is wrong and unfair, and that man will fight in order to create a fairer society In contrast to Marxism which recognises social change and aspires towards it functionalism fails to recognise it altogether, and assumes every institution is a positive for society. Looking at the evidence of both Marxism and functionalism, the society, today inclines more towards functionalism. Most people are happy with the system they live in. If too many people were to try and change it society would not work as well; an example of this is the post office strikes; people did not receive bills, money or other important mail, this forces society to have no sympathy for the postal workers. This is also an example of Marxist theory not working as he said it would; although it did not last too long and some people did benefit. This gives us reason to question if we only accept society as it is because as a society we are lazy, if we were to unite as a society, could we overthrow the bourgeoisie as Marx suggested we would? Lower class citizens are keeping the higher classes in work, this keeps money within the system in turn they receive state benefits from the taxes that they pay. If all the lower classes were to try and move up the social ladder they may be no reason for some of the bourgeoisie, for example if all criminals and deviants, reformed and started working there would be no need for, law enforcement services, county courts and probation officers. Some amount of crime is necessary to keep higher classes such as the uniformed services in work.

Nuclear Warfare :: essays research papers fc

Nuclear Power Problems The effects caused by a nuclear power accident, on the scale of the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl accident, must override any inclination to side with advocates for nuclear power. Surely we have all heard the expression "I’m only human". If we are indeed only human, and consequently prone to error, we could never perfectly manage and contain an energy as potentially destructive as that of nuclear power, without the possibility of a nuclear accident. Furthermore, the wastes generated by nuclear power, when inadvertently released during a nuclear power accident, have been proven to cause malignant diseases and premature death to those who come into contact with them. Additionally, the vegetation threat we rely on for survival is severely affected when radioactive elements are released into the air and water supply during a nuclear accident. Most alarming, however, is the fact that the general public is vastly unaware of its governments’ use of nuclear waste in the development of nuclear weapon. Most of us can remember the bombing of Iwo Jima and the effects the bomb had on the lives of the millions of Japanese that lived within a twenty mile radius of the city. We can see what happened to the second generation: children born with severe informities such as sixteen fingers and three arms; children born with cancer; and children with mental and physical handicaps. The radiation of a bomb doesn’t always cause instant death, but it is a lingering experience. Japanese people, thought to be healthy, got cancer in later life, and had dis-formed children. Consequently, we must not be swayed by advocates urging us to further develop and expand nuclear power. We must, instead, examine the larger picture; the risks associated with this potentially devastating power. The potential for human error causing a nuclear accident can be ascertained by considering the causes and effects of accidents that have already occurred. In 1952 , at Chalk River’s Nuclear Reactor, four control pads were unintentionally removed, causing a partial meltdown of the reactor’s core. In 1957, a fire at the Windscale Pile No. 1 plant, just north of Liverpool, England, resulted in the contamination of 200 square miles of countryside when it was covered with radiation. In 1976, the core of the Lubmin nuclear plant in Greifswald, East Germany nearly melted down when safety systems failed during a fire. In 1979, the ever so famous, Three Mile Island reactor in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania lost coolant in one of its two reactors and a partial meltdown occurred on March 28, 1979.